1. Field
The field of the invention relates to laser analyte detection systems and methods.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Microarray assays can be used to determine the presence of an analyte or compare genetic expression between two or more sample groups on thousands of genes per experiment. Typically, labels (e.g., secondary identifier tag) are used to detect the bio-molecular interactions, usually employing luminescent detection principles such as fluorescence, bioluminescence, or chemiluminescence, to detect the presence of specific chemical species. The array results are useful in molecular disease classification, gene and pathway discovery, tumor prognosis and sub-classification, drug development, and the prediction of response to treatment. However, such experiments have suffered from multiple problems including artifacts in sample preparation and labeling, software definition of each spot or feature, determination of signal level, and reproducibility of signals within a single array or across arrays. For example, experimental variations within a tissue source or type are often larger than the distinguishing differences, e.g., between cancerous and non-cancerous expressions.
Typically, laser-based systems used for analyte detection also require labels to detect bio-molecular interactions and require direct exposure of the sample to a laser beam, which can complicate the detection process. Accordingly, there is a need to develop an alternative method for gene expression measurements that overcomes the above-described and other problems in the art.